Monday, July 29, 2013

Week #22 - "Fetch", "fah", and WalMart!

This week was NUTS! Seriously, I have so much hilarious
content to relay, I don´t really know how my fingers of time limit is going to
handle it. But! Here goes!

Outskirts of my area!

Fun facts of the week:

1) Elder Mongelos, a Latin elder in my district, has been seriously
destroyed by all of his Utah companions - that man says ´fetch´ enough times in a
sentence, that it would make a blue-blooded, Utah-Mormon blush. It´s fairly
hilarious.

2) There´s an expression here, similar to ´oh wow´ or
´golly gee´(because we all say that so often, right? :) that is ´fah´.
Say it out loud. Yep. You guessed it. Every time I hear someone say it, I cringe
and think they´re saying the F-word. The best part is, the missionaries here
use it more than ANYONE else. I seriously am convinced that missionaries use
more slang than any teenagers in a given country. It makes us feel ´a part of
the culture´:)

3) I tried Malta this week! It´s similar to coffee, but...
not coffee. Personally, I think it tastes a little weird, but it´s right up
there with maté here.

4) I learned that the President of Argentina (who is also a
woman, by the way) made a law that you could only sell certain things in
Argentina that were made here. So, consequently, things are occasionally
fairly expensive, and always have a ´made in Argentina´ label on the
back.

5) This is crazy! Apparently, Toms actually originated in
Argentina. I noticed that TONS of people here wear a shoe that is similar to
Toms, and asked an other missionary about it. Apparently, the guy that founded
Toms came to Argentina, saw this shoe (the canvas shoe that all the people wear
as house slippers, or just when they can´t afford anything better - basically
their version of flip flops) and brought it back to the states. It totally
makes sense if you look at the TOMs logo - its the Argentina flag! Add that the
list of reasons why Argentina is super cool :)

6) Okay. I´m not entirely sure if anyone else has wondered this
besides me --and maybe the Stewart family -- but for those that have seen Toy
Story 3, do you remember the part where Buzz gets changed into Spanish mode? I
have always wondered if in the Spanish dubbed version of the movie, if he gets
changed into English version or not! Sadly, I learned this week that alas, he
does not. Still Spanish mode. Phooey. That would have been hilarious :) Also, I
am totally watching that movie after my mission to understand all that he is
saying. If you want to join the party, someone start making a list!

7) There are a couple words or phrases that are fairly
specific or emphasized in Argentina only. For example, the word ´re´ signifies
much or very, and they use it SO often here! Personally, I have come to love
it, especially when the people get really into it, and roll their r´s till
kingdom come :)

8) We went to Walmart this week! Hna Borup and I started
laughing when we walked in - you might be a desperate missionary if Walmart
feels like home :)

9) I´m seriously impressed by the women´s excessive talent in
breastfeeding here. Like, really. I saw someone breastfeeding while driving a
motorcycle this last week. I just laughed :)

The family at Martín's baptism!

Carlos (who was baptized one month ago) baptized his 11 year old son.

Carlos received the priesthood in church the week before ... It was amazing :)

These are just a few of the topic addressed. If you have any questions, please visit this website or request to meet with the LDS missionaries serving in your area (similar to how I'll be serving in Argentina), who will provide reliable and true answers to any questions you may have. You can request to meet with LDS missionaries HERE: